A big change awaits Utah's deer hunters in 2012: Instead of hunting buck deer in five large regions, they'll hunt deer in smaller areas called units.

How many general-season deer hunting units will Utah have in 2012? The DWR is recommending 30.

Photo by Brent Stettler

But just how many units will Utah have in 2012?

Biologists with the Division of Wildlife Resources are recommending 30.

Anis Aoude, big game coordinator for the DWR, says the DWR split the state into management units decades ago to help biologists gather biological data about the wildlife in each area. "We think boundaries similar to the ones our biologists are already using would also be good boundaries for the new hunt units," he says.

Maps that show the boundaries for each unit the DWR is recommending should be available at wildlife.utah.gov/public_meetings by April 25.

Learn more, share your ideas

After you've reviewed the boundaries at wildlife.utah.gov/public_meetings, you can let your Regional Advisory Council members know your thoughts by attending your upcoming RAC meeting or by sending an email to them.

RAC chairmen will share the input they receive with members of the Utah Wildlife Board. The board will meet in Salt Lake City on June 9 to approve both the number of units and the boundaries.

Dates, times and locations for the RAC meetings are as follows:

• Southern Region
  May 10, 7 p.m.
  Cedar Middle School
  2215 W Royal Hunt DR, Cedar City
• Southeastern Region
  May 11, 6:30 p.m.
  John Wesley Powell Museum
  1765 E Main Street, Green River
• Northeastern Region
  May 12, 6 p.m.
  Bingham Entrepreneurship and Energy Research Center
  320 N Aggie Blvd (2000 W), Vernal
• Central Region
  May 17, 6:30 p.m.
  Springville Civic Center
  110 S Main ST, Springville
• Northern Region
  May 18, 6 p.m.
  Brigham City Community Center
  24 N 300 W, Brigham City

Email

You can also provide your comments to your RAC via email. Email addresses for your RAC members are available at wildlife.utah.gov/public_meetings.

The group each RAC member represents (sportsman, non-consumptive, etc.) is listed under each person's email address. You should direct your email to the people on the RAC who represent your interest.